Athens Heritage Walks 2015 Series Announced

Tuesday, September 29, 2015 3:55 PM

Athens Heritage Walks, now in its 7th season, is sponsored by the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation. It is a series of guided walking tours highlighting Athens history and historic architecture. Tour guides are local volunteers with a love for Athens and a special place in their hearts for the places they take you.

We kick off the series on Saturday, October 10th with:
Navy School/UGA Public Health Services Campus
Tour Guide Scott Messer, UGA Office of University Architects
Saturday, October 10 at 10:00 AM

Navy School/UGA Public Health Services Campus:
In 1860, the University of Georgia constructed Rock College, a preparatory school on 30 acres of land off Prince Avenue. Between 1862 and 1891, the school served the educational needs of Georgia in a variety of roles including as a Confederate military school, as a Federal garrison, as a school for disabled young Confederate veterans, and as home to UGA’s agriculture and mechanical arts programs. In 1891, the state established the Normal School to train rural teachers in teaching standards or “norms,” and the nearby commercial area soon adopted the name “Normaltown.” The oldest surviving buildings were built during this period, including Winnie Davis Hall, erected in 1902 as a memorial to the daughter of Jefferson Davis, and the Carnegie Library, built in 1910 with a grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. In the 1930s, the campus served as home to UGA freshmen and sophomore women to keep them isolated from the temptations of the main campus and downtown. In 1953 the site was purchased by the U.S. Navy as a permanent location for its Supply Corps School. In 2011, ownership of the campus returned to the University of Georgia, which is now home to UGA’s Health Science Campus while preserving its historic buildings. Because of its historical and educational significance, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This tour will last approximately 2 hours.